Repercussions
by FlOrangey
Summary: His father wanted to do something good, but things went horribly wrong. Now his son caught in a situation he doesn't think he can handle.
1. Chapter 1

I do not think the summary for this fits to well. I'll probably wound up changing it if I have to.

**Chapter One: The Father**

"Noah!" The voice caught him by surprise and made him turn around. The person that had been running towards had been the last person he expected to see coming after him.

"Rex? What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" He said, "Come on you don't have to do this."

"I know I don't _have_ to." He said, they had gone over this before he left. "It's something I _want _to do."

"But I don't understand. Why?" Rex asked and Noah found himself shaking his head.

"You know why Rex…"

* * *

_4 years before the Nanite Event_

Rylander wasn't around as much as he wanted to be, working outside of the country made it difficult to be with your family. He did the best he could; he made sure he called every night, to talk to his wife and son and when he got time off the first thing he did was buy a ticket for the next plane back into the United States to spend time with them, even if it was for a week.

It had been six months since Rylander's last break. He was supposed to have gotten the current month off, but there had been an accident in one of facilities and one of the researcher's children was in critical condition. They had to inject there latest batch of prototype Nanites into the boy to save his life, and were currently waiting to see if he would get better or slowly get worse. Rylander had been praying he would get better.

They had done tests on injured animals and there had been promising results, but then the Nanites would attack the animal's immune systems. They had no way of knowing if this latest batch would do the same thing to the young boy, so they had to constantly monitor his condition. He was still amazed that the boy's parents even allowed them to inject the Nanites into their son. Granted his father was his co-worker, but the request had been something he never thought he would hear, especially since at the rate they were going, human testing wasn't even being considered. He only did it because the man had begged him to, and now the only thing they could do now was sit and wait.

Rylander had been watching the sleeping boy for over three hours monitoring his condition before another researcher came in to take over for him. That gave Rylander the break he needed and he made his way into the lounge to use the phone. He picked up the receiver and dialed the large string of numbers he had memorized years ago and waited as the phone rang. And waited. And waited.

"_Hello?"_ A female voice finally said and Rylander looked relieved.

"Sandra, it's me." He said and he heard his wife let out a small gasp from the other end.

"_Gabriel? Where are you?"_ The woman said, her tone telling him that she sounded either very stressed out or very frustrated. Or a combination of the two. _"You said you would be home this month."_

"I'm sorry. There was…" He paused; if he told her about the accident then he would never hear the end of it. Best keep that quiet until they knew if they were going to save the young lads life or not. "Something came up and I needed to put off my vacation." He told her instead and she heard her make a small 'huff', telling him that he would be in a lot of trouble when he eventually got him. His back was already starting to hurt at the realization he might be stuck on the couch when he could finally go on break.

"_You've been over there for over sixth months Gabe. I miss you, and I'm not the only one. Noah's been asking when you'll be coming home for weeks."_

"Is Noah still up?" He asked at the mention of his sons name.

"_What do you think?"_ There was a small giggle in her voice, if anything it meant that she was smiling, and he was probably not in as much trouble as he thought he was. _"I'll put him on, but don't be long, he has school tomorrow."_

"I know." He said and waited as he heard his wife shout something and then the rustling noise of his son being given the phone.

"_Hi daddy!"_ Another voice, one that made Gabriel smile. It sounded like a young boy of about seven, lively, energetic, and ready to run around the house a few times before going to bed for the night.

"Hey, how you doing kid?" He asked giving his son the keys to open the floodgates and tell him everything that had happened that day. Noah always had a story to tell, either about how he made the elementary schools basketball team, about the fish that got away while he was playing at the docks, or that he got a B on his math test.

Today was how he managed to outrun some kids picking on them. _"And when I jumped over the fences they couldn't follow after me because the big one of them got stuck."_ He said and Rylander found himself smiling, glad that Noah was now doing something about those kids instead of just letting them have their way. _"But they weren't very happy the next day so they beat me up when I got to school and took my CD player."_ That made Rylander lose his smile.

"Noah, you can't let those kids keep beating you up like that." He told him.

"_I know…" _A sad voice, one that made Rylander wish that he could be home more often for his boy. If he was around more, his boy would probably have more confidence, maybe even be able to fight back when those kids picked on him. _"When are you coming back_ _home dad?"_ He asked and Rylander could feel his chest tighten. He took a deep breath, he had no idea when he would be home now that his break had been delayed.

"Soon." He said trying to keep his voice steady. Soon seemed to be the best answer he could give his wife and son nowadays. "And when I get back, we'll go to a basketball game."

"_Really?" _Rylander heard the nine year olds voice perk up, which brought a smile to his face.

"Yes, of course." He said and he heard Noah tell the good news to his mother. He heard her say that it was nice before telling him to say goodnight, it was time for bed. Rylander smiled as he heard Noah complain about the early bed time, claiming that he wasn't tired and then yawning, contradicting himself.

"_I gotta go dad. Night." _The boy said sleepily and his mom took the phone from him.

"_Please, come home soon dear." _Was what she said and he gave a sad smile that he.

"I will. I promise." He told her, "Love you Sandy."

"_Of course you do."_ They said their good-byes and Rylander hung up. He sighed; he could tell his long term absences combined with the problems Noah was having were beginning to stress her out. His constant schedule changes weren't helping much either.

However with a little luck that could soon change. If the nanites that were inside that kid didn't eat away at him then there was a chance they would be on the right track and get there lifelong project completed in a few years. No more pain, no more disease, no more being away for his family for six to eight months on end. Once they're work was completed he could finally be able to go home.

* * *

_2 Years before the Nanite Event_

"Daddy look!"

Gabriel Rylander watched, a smile on his face as his nine year old song - in his oversized blue jacket and fishing boots - tried effortless to keep the fish they had just caught in his hands. The moment he squeezed to get a good grip on it, the fish went flying out of his hands and into the air. "I got it!" He said as the fish flopped in his hands. Again he tried to grab it and it flew up this time falling onto the deck before flopping around and landing back into the water.

"It got away…" Noah said his shoulders sagging as he stared at the water, his oversized jacket sliding down his back. Rylander knelt down next to his son putting a hand on his head.

"Hey, there's always more." He said, rubbing the boy's overlong hair, but Noah continued to stare at the water.

"Why did he want to leave?" He asked.

"Well maybe he missed his friends." He said and his son stared at him. Rylander figured his son didn't believe him; after all he was nine, well past the age for believing in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, so telling him a fish missed his friends was something of a lie to him. "Come on let's get out of here. The game is going to start in twenty minutes."

The blonde boys face brightened up and he gave a squeal that Rylander was sure had 'okay' or 'yes' somewhere in it. They packed the fishing equipment and made their way to the truck putting the fishing poles and lures in the back.

"Daddy?" Noah asked as he sat on the side kicking his legs around , "Who's that boy you mentioned?"

Rylander paused, confused for a second and looked up at his son. "What boy? And get down from there, you're going to fall and hurt yourself."

Noah frowned but got off sitting against it instead. "The one that you were telling mom about. He lives where you work, right?" He asked, "Why can't mom and I live where you work?"

Rylander chuckled, his son had apparently decided to sneak downstairs and listen to them the other night instead of going to bed when he was supposed to. No wonder he couldn't wake up this morning. "He doesn't live where I work. His father is a co-worker and they live in the general area, so his family comes to visit."

"Can we visit you dad?" Noah asked and Rylander helped his son off the back of the truck.

"You could, but I'm out of the country, so you're mom would need to take a lot of time off to visit." He told him, "And my job doesn't allow me to take breaks in the middle of the day, we're working almost all the time."

"So I wouldn't see you even if we went anyway." Noah said looking down at the ground. "Dad, when are you going to come home and stay home?"

The question was the most painful one that Rylander had ever heard and he knelt down to Noah's level placing both of his hands onto the boy.

"Soon." He started, "The work me and my co-workers have been doing has made great progress, within a few years I'll be able to come back home permanently. I'll be able to go to all of your basketball games to cheer you on."

"Promise?" Noah asked staring at his father, his bright big blue eyes making Rylander's chest tighten.

"I promise." He told him and as he told Noah to get in the car, and close the back door, he felt like he was lying.

* * *

_Hours Before the Nanite Event_

Noah woke up one day feeling horrible. His mom, upon seeing he had a bad fever and was having trouble keeping any food down, let the eleven year old boy stay home. She would have stayed home with him, but her boss wouldn't let her take a sudden day off.

The boy lay on the couch most of the day shivering under a cold blanket. The tv was one, some cartoons airing, but he was asleep and the only thing the noise did was making him have strange dreams which he did not remember when he woke up. He woke up to the sound of the phone ringing and groaned before getting up and hobbling over to the kitchen.

He answered the phone, "Hewwo?" He said sleepily and rubbed an eye with his free hand.

"_Hey kid, how you feeling?"_ The familiar voice made him perk up.

"Dad?" He asked.

"_You mom left me a message saying you were sick. I thought I'd call see how you're doing."_

"I'm fine… Mom isn't 'appy that she 'ad go to work." He said sniffling, "I'd tell you what she said her boss was but she told me not to repeat it." He heard his dad laugh and Noah smiled taking the phone back to the couch.

"_Well kid, I have some good news." _ His father said piquing the eleven year old boy's curiosity.

"What is it?"

"_Well, we think we might have a clear date on when we'll be finished our work."_

Noah frowned and rubbed his eyes. "What does that mean?" He asked letting out a loud yawn. "Sorry…" He muttered hugging the phone closer to his ear. He heard his father give a laugh for some reason.

"_I__t means is that in about six months I'm going to able to come home…and stay home._" The news made any sleepiness Noah felt go away in that instant.

"Really?" He asked sitting up and slapping himself in the face to make sure that he was not dreaming. The slap hurt but he bit his lip to keep from whimpering. He was not dreaming, his dad would really be coming home.

"_Yup. I'll be home to see you basketball games and to drive you to school."_

"Can we go fishing at the docks again?" Noah asked.

"_Of course. Oh, I'd better go, they need me back down in the labs." _Hearing that, Noah lay back down on the couch. _"Make sure you tell your mom the good news and I'll see you soon kid."_

"Bye-bye dad." Noah pressed the button that ended the call and put the phone next to him. If this really wasn't a dream, it would be next to him when his mom woke him up when she got home. Then she could tell her the good news. Dad was coming home… he promised he would be home and they would be a family again. He closed his eyes smiling at the thought of his dad being able to go to all of his basketball games or even being able to pick him up from practice. That never happened before.

He felt someone's arm on his shoulder and stirred when the person shook him. He opened his eyes to see a blurry figure over him. "Mom?" He said blinking a few times as his mom's face came into focus. "What are you doing home?" He asked letting out another yawn.

"Got off early. I was worried about you all day." She said moving her hand through his hair before resting it on his forehead. "Looks like your fevers down. Why don't I make you something to eat."

Hearing that reminded Noah that he hadn't eaten anything all day. He nodded muttering a thank you before looking down and noticing his mom take the phone off the couch. "Someone call dear?" She asked and Noah stared at her mind blank. He frowned before his eyes widened and he remembered that someone did call.

"Yeah, dad did!" Noah said sitting up. He grinned, "Dad said he's going to be coming home." He said and his mom stared at him. "He said that he is almost done with that thing he's doing and that when he comes home he'll be home forever!"

He watched as his mom stared at him before smiling. "That's wonderful dear." She said and got up from the couch to put the phone back on its receiver. Noah frowned and turned to watch his mom from the couch resting his arms on the back.

"You don't believe him." He said.

"Well you're father has said this before and then he gets delayed." She said looking at him, "I'm happy he could be coming home, but, well there's always the chance something will happen to make him have to go out there."

"But he promised, this time." Noah said. His mom looked at him and gave off a small giggle.

"Well if he promised, we'll have to tie him down the next time he tries to leave." She said and Noah laughed.

* * *

It was getting dark. Noah was starting to feel better which meant that he needed to do his homework. He had complained about it until his mom told him he wouldn't be able to have any desert if he didn't finish it by the time she was done dinner. He fell silent and only complained once when he had to work on his math homework.

The news was playing in on the television and Noah really really wanted to change the channel because of how boring it was, but new that the moment he reached for the remote his mom would no and tell him to go back to his homework. How she would know even when her back was turned to him he had no idea; she had to have some kind of psychic power or something.

The news was mostly just sports and about a man's dog who saved a family from a fire. However as Noah worked on his math homework, a loud alarm like noise blared getting both his and his mothers attention. Soon the screen flashed a red sign that said something Noah couldn't make out and the scene changed. The story of the dog being replaced by a newswoman just on the outskirts of an area covered in rubble and dust. She looked like she was trying to keep calm, but at the same time uneasy.

"_We interrupt our current broadcast for this important Bulletin. Just minutes ago, an explosion occurred in the middle east taking a small town and the Abis research facility with it."_ The woman said. Noah's eyes widened as he recognized the name and he jumped when he heard something that sounded like glass breaking.

He looked behind him to see his mother looking at the television from the kitchen. _"The Abis research was being used to conduct experiments on Nano technology. The exact reason for this research was believed to be for medical purposes. An investigation on what caused the explosion is currently underway- what?"_

The newscaster stopped talking listening to information that someone was giving them. Her eyes widened and she spoke again sounding completely unprepared for the information she just heard.

"_Uh, this just in, but it appears that strange animals have been appearing in the area. They look like the regular animals and fauna from the area, however… larger, more monstrous. We will keep you posted on the latest update in events."_ A loud cry was heard from the television and the news woman turned around before the scene changed, this time to back to the news station.

The woman in the station continued to speak, but at that point Noah wasn't paying attention. He was watching as his mother picked up the phone and tried dialing a number.

"Mom." Noah said trying to get her attention. Instead she looked away from him muttering into the phone.

"Come on Gabe, pick up." She didn't move, waiting for her husband to pick up. Even from the couch, Noah could hear the busy signal and watched as his mom hung up and then dialed again.

"Mom." He said a bit louder getting her attention. She stared at him wide eyed before covering the speaker with her hand.

"Go up to your room sweetie." She said.

"Is Dad okay?" He asked not listening.

"I'm trying to find that out." She said, loud, and Noah shrunk back almost hiding behind the couch. His mother took a deep breath and spoke again, this time trying to sound more calm. "Go upstairs and wait in your room. I'll let you know when I reach him." She said. Noah nodded and quiet left the family room, wrapping himself in his green blanket. He climbed the stairs as slowly as he could so he could try and hear anything his mother said. When he didn't hear her say anything he moved faster and made his way to his room.

He lay down on his bed and rolled onto his side. His window was open and it was dark outside. No moon was out and he couldn't see any stars either. He coughed, and rolled over so his back was facing the window. His throat felt dry but he didn't want to go downstairs and get some water while his mom was trying to reach his dad. He shook as he thought of his dad; that had been the name of the place he had been working. He would be okay right?

He shook his head; of course his dad would be okay. He probably left the facility for a little while to get something. He wasn't there when the explosion happened. Noah was sure of it, his dad would call back and his mom would tell him that he was fine. Yes, that would be exactly what happened.

Noah coughed again before closing his eyes. He opened them to find his clock showing 10:30PM. He blinked and rubbed his eyes and looked at it again. It still read10:30PM. He hadn't even realized he fell asleep. Had his mom already gone to bed? No she said she would tell him when she heard from dad.

The hallway light was still on, if anything that told him his mom was still up because she always turned it off when she went to bed. He climbed his way out of bed and walked down the hall stopping at his mom's room. The door was open and the light was off, but no one was in the bed. Mom was probably still up, did she not get into contact with dad yet? He climbed down the stairs stopping when he saw his mom talking with two people in the doorway.

"I'm sorry ma'am. It's not safe here." One of them said and they reminded Noah of those suited men in the movies his dad liked to watch when he was home. The movies always scared him.

"But Gabriel? Where's my husband?"

"We're looking, but we haven't been able to find anything. At best he's one of them, at worst he's." The man trailed off and Noah realized that he was looking at him. The blonde shrunk back under the man's gaze stumbling into the wall. "Ugh, poor kid."

Noah looked away, then back up when he saw his kneel down next to him. "Noah, you should be asleep by now."

"Who are they?" The eleven year old said looking back at them then his mom, "Do they know dad?"

His mother didn't answer right away instead playing with her son's overly long hair musing for a second that he needed a haircut. She took a small breath, after that promise his father made him she hated to have to tell him this, but she knew she had to.

"Noah, I have some bad news..."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

The idea for this fanfic is playing under the assumption that Noah is Rylander's son, and overall is something I've been wondering for awhile especially after the episodes Basic. I have an idea of how this is going to end, but I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get to that ending. Also since I started working on this BEFORE Badlands and Pyaback aired I don't think I'm going to reference anything from them.

This image was inspiration to the fish scene. She's a great artist and I just LOVE this picture: http :/ / wanlingnic . deviantart . com / gallery / # / d31xzoj.

Also I suck at math so I think the dates are a bit off.


	2. Chapter 2: Blackmail

**Chapter Two: Blackmail**

Everything felt like it happened so fast. Not long after his mother told him what happened to his father, they packed there things and left the house. Noah wouldn't know until a few years later that those people were working for the government and that the project that his father was working on was also some kind of government funded project. One that went horribly wrong.

Things didn't become quiet afterward though. The news continued to tell stories about animals and plants becoming monstrous and attacking people. Then came the breaking story not even two months after the explosion happened; a person transformed into some kind of werewolf like monster. The police were called in to restrain it - about two were killed and five were injured. More started changing into them and the police were authorized to use deadly force if they engaged one.

It worked some times, most of the time though, it didn't.

Next thing people knew, the military were patrolling the areas. Doctors and environmental scientists came to people's homes to do tests, either taking blood samples from people and animals, or taking dirt from the yards or flowers from gardens. The results made the news only a few weeks later; tiny microbes were found inside the bodies of everyone... and everything. More tests concluded that the little microbes were mechanical, and also the causes the mutations. Then the worse news hit, there was no way to stop it.

Trying to move on with life became difficult for everyone. Noah saw the world change slowly as policies were implemented to try and prevent casualties in the event of a mutation. He saw one of his teachers be replaced by another when the man had been almost ripped apart when his dog turned into a monster. Everyday Noah would leave his house, got to school, and come home wondering if he was going to wake up and still be himself, or if his mom was going to turn into one of those things. Or if the small ants in his yard were going to suddenly become 20 feet tall and rip apart his house.

Then Providence appeared, spreading word about its goals and its policy ' contain and kill' something that Noah saw everyone look at and then shrug off. At least until the policy was changed to add one other option, an option – a possibility – that no one ever expected to hear since the outbreak occurred five years ago.

The possibility of a cure.

_"Is Providence really working on a cure to this epidemic?"_ The newscaster asked a slim looking man in a green colored suit. They were watching the news in there science class because no only had it just been announced, but the information was the biggest news since the epidemic started in the first place. Everyone was watching the announcement waiting to hear what the man in the suit would say.

"_Yes."_ Was the answer. Everyone waited, even the newscaster, for the man to elaborate. When he didn't the newscaster looked to the camera and then back to him.

_"Uh, would you care to elaborate on this cure?"_

_"That is currently classified information."_ The man said and went up and pushed his hand into the camera. _"No more questions." _The screen went black leaving everyone in the classroom speechless, including their science teacher who also looked disappointed, apparently having expected something more than that.

"Well, I suppose since we're talking about EVOs, perhaps we can use this class to discuss Nanites and their effects." He said and the class grumbled. Ever since the incident, Nanites were added as part of the school curriculum and the information ranged between fascinating and boring depending on how much information they had and the teacher teaching the subject. Last year they happened to have a teacher who had apparently been involved in the project during its early phase, this year they had someone who had no idea what they were talking about.

Noah wished he could talk to that teacher, but not only had he been too nervous to, he probably wasn't allowed to anyway. Saying anything about his past or who he was would probably get him and his mother moved to another location. That was the last thing that he wanted to happen, after being in New York for almost three years he didn't want to have to move again. He learned his lesson to keep his mouth shut and he wasn't going to open it again.

He took a glance at the cars going by the school before turning back to his work. What the teacher was talking about didn't make any sense. Nano technology, Nanites… nothing about it made sense. The only thing's he got were what Providence told the public, that the Nanites in everyone's bodies were dormant until they somehow became active, altering a person's DNA turning them into a monster – an EVO as they called them. The little details about their mechanics, that went over his head. All he wanted to know was what Providence was going to do to win this war. If the cure they were working on was going to work.

He was grateful when the final bell rang. He put his science book in his backpack and got up only to be knocked over as someone bumped into him. "Hey!" The person only laughed. Noah grumbled quietly to himself as he watched the person leave the classroom; probably someone on the football team. Only thing keeping the guy from picking on him was probably the fact he was on the basketball team. One step lower than a jock – a popular kid – yet high enough on the social totem pole to avoid being pushed around.

For Noah it was the only thing keeping him from being another bully's target. He used to love basketball, now he only played because doing it was so ingrained into his system that doing not playing made him anxious in the winter. Playing it didn't give him that rush or that joy that it gave him when he was younger. Now, he felt like a lump that wasn't going anywhere, like most of the life had been sucked out of him after his father passed away. His mom kept telling him to make some friends, but he always got nervous when he tried. He had a few acquaintances on the basketball team, but that was about it.

"Hey Noah." The blonde stopped in his steps as he heard a very familiar voice. He looked over to see Clair standing against the wall. Clair, one of the few people that made an open effort to talk to him, maybe that was why he had developed a crush on her last year. Sadly she was going out with someone that was completely out of his league. They were even better than a football player.

They were a college student. Only Clair was good looking and smart enough to be able to get the attention of a college student. Well, her friend Annie probably could as well, but considering what happened to every guy that _she _dated…

"Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked and wanted to slap himself in the head. His voice became high pitched and strained, _again_. No girl liked a guy that sounded like he had just sucked a balloon full of helium.

"Just waiting for Annie to finish up." She said looking over to the lockers and then back to him. "You know, you should hang out with us sometime. Go to the snack shack, hang out for a bit, all that." He was so tempted to say yes, he wanted to hang out with Clair. He really, really, did. "Roger's going to be coming with us."

Roger… Roger was the college student. "Uh, thanks but I need to get home." No way was he going to make a fool of himself in front of a _college student_. "Another time maybe." Preferably when Roger wasn't around. He did not say that last part out loud and was grateful, because Clair gave him a smile that could have made any guy melt into a puddle on the floor.

"Alright, another time." She said and looked over to see Annie slam her locker door shut and then kick it with her foot. "I'll see you later."

Noah watched her leave before going in the other direction with a huge grin on his face. That grin then faded when he remembered who she was going to see and then he hit himself in the head. A _college student._ No one could compete with that! Especially him.

* * *

It was spring. Snow was finally off the ground and it was warm enough for Noah to walk around in his green air-force inspired jacket instead of the bulky winter coat his mom got him. Basketball season had come to a close and the blonde played with the second place silver medal that had been given to him and his teammates. It had been the best they had done in awhile. His coach had berated the team because second place more or less meant 'first loser', but Noah didn't really care, he actually felt good about the end of the season. He couldn't wait to show it to his mom and then hang it up in his room.

"Mom, I'm home!" He said opening the door. His grin faded when he saw his mother sitting on the couch head in her hands looking as though she was going to cry. "Mom?" He repeated and she looked up at him. She wasn't crying, but she looked like she wanted to. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"It's…" She started before getting up and grabbing a piece of paper off the counter. "Someone called wanting to speak to you. Said something about a job."

Noah frowned and looked at the number. The number looked legit and a job offer was something that was hard to come by thanks to the current economy. So why would his mom look so upset? "Is there something I should know mom?" He asked. His mother looked away for a moment before sighing and turning back to him.

"He knows who we are."

Noah's eyes widened. The last time he heard that it meant leaving. "What?" He said, "But how, I thought-"

"He says he'll keep quiet if you work for him." His mom cut in looking away from him, a disturbed look in her eyes. "But, I don't know what he wants. I asked he wouldn't say." She said sighing hand to her forehead, frustrated, and to Noah she looked incredibly tense. "I honestly wanted to say no and contact WP, but… well you're almost an adult, you should decide if you want to call him back or not."

Noah stayed quiet looking at the number. He climbed up to his room and stared at the ceiling trying to make sense of what was going on. Someone found out about his and his mom's relationship with Gabriel Rylander, and he was willing to keep quiet if Noah worked for him. He grumbled and sat up looking at the number. What was he supposed to do? What would his dad do in this situation?

He had no idea. His father was dead; and even if he wasn't, he never would be in this situation. And he was the reason that they were in this mess anyway. "No it's not his fault." Noah found himself muttering to himself. The situation they were in was not his father's fault. He would never have known this would happen. He couldn't blame him for not knowing what his research would cause.

Noah rubbed his hair and stared at the number for a little while longer before reaching for his cell phone. He'd call it; the worst thing that could happen was that it was some prank at his school. …On second thought it probably could be worse than that, but he wasn't going to admit it. He finished dialing the number and waited. His heart pounded in his chest as her heard the first and second ring tones pass.

On the third a person answered it. _"Hello?"_

It was a man with a low voice. Noah took a small breath to keep himself calm. "Uh hi I'm-"

"_Is this Gabriel Rylander's son?"_ Noah froze when he heard that and nodded. Then he remembered that he was talking on the phone and this man would not see him.

"Y-yes." He stuttered, "My names Noah."

"_Noah. How appropriate."_ The man said and Noah stayed quiet knowing that he would be better off staying quiet in this situation than saying anything. _"Noah tell me, do you want to win this war you're father helped start?"_

The question struck a nerve. What was going on was not his father's fault. Yes he worked on the project, but he couldn't have seen this happen. It was not his fault. It's not… "Yes. I do." It was not his father's fault.

"_Good." _The man said,_ "I'm very glad to hear you say that. It tells me you know what's right."_ Noah winced at the man's words; he was starting to think that calling him back was a bad idea. _"Listen I have a very important job for you, and if you accept it, not only will be a valuable asset in this war, but all information about your family history will vanish from Providence's database. You'll be able to live your life as normal as possible, and the fact that you're related to Gabriel Rylander will be swept under the carpet as if the information never existed."_

Noah could feel his hands shaking. This was blackmail and he was so tempted to tell this man to look somewhere else that he almost said it. Almost. He wished he had more of a spine. "What do you want me to do?" He asked and he was certain the man was smiling on the other end.

"_It's simple really. You probably already know this, but Providence has managed to find a cure in the form of an EVO. It was all over the news today."_

"I was at school, I didn't see the news." Noah said.

"_Ah, my apologize."_ The man didn't sound sorry. He almost sounded like he was mocking him. _"The point is, while this EVO is the key to winning this war, he's unruly, uncontrollable. I need you to - "_

"I can't fight it if that's what you're suggesting." He said and his bit his lip as a silence broke their conversation. He should have kept his mouth shut. He snapped his eyes shut waiting for the phone to click telling him that the other man hung up.

"_No."_ The man said, not ending the call, but sounding very annoyed that he had been interrupted. _"What I want is for you to 'befriend' the EVO. Keep an eye on him, talk to him, make him trust you and make sure he doesn't get too far out of line."_

Befriend it? That sounded worse than fighting it. All the EVOs that Noah had seen were wild monsters that tried to kill people. How was he supposed to befriend one of them? He asked that to the man he was speaking to and the only thing he said was. _"I'll leave that up to you. I'm sending information on the EVO as well as his location to your cell phone. I would suggest befriending him as soon as possible; there will be consequences if he gets too far out of line."_

With that last sentence the line clicked and Noah found himself listening to the sound to dead air before ending the call on his end. He took a deep breath and flopped over onto his pillow. "What have I just gotten myself into?" He asked himself then felt his cell phone vibrate. He looked at it and noticed he had just received three messages. That guy wasn't kidding when he said he was sending information. He opened the first one, a photo and stared at it eyes wide. The image had not been what he had expected when he heard he would need to befriend an EVO.

"Is this guy serious?" It had to be some kind of joke, as he looked at the picture he was starting to question if this person was of sane mind.

He looked at the other bit of information, his location. He stared at the address, he knew where it was, but would it be worth going to? For all he knew this was some elaborate wild goose chase… no, no it wasn't. Even if it was an elaborate prank the person would never have known who his dad was unless they had government ties.

There was no way this was real. He told himself that, but he grabbed his jacket anyway.

* * *

It was real. Or better yet _he_ was real.

Noah watched from a distance as the EVO conversed with a few other people, people that Noah could already tell would be trouble. The EVO didn't seem to notice anything wrong as he used his powers on a nearby soda machine to get the guys drinks.

The EVO looked almost exactly like the image that he had been sent –short hair, red and orange jacket, and a skin tone that made Noah guess he was Hispanic. The only differences between the image and what he was seeing now were the goggles on his head, and his jacket looking a bit smaller. The image was outdated, how outdated he didn't know, but that didn't matter. He pocketed his cell phone and started down to where they were. How we was going to get this EVO away from those guys he had no idea, but he had to think of something fast.

"Dude, we totally have to take him to the arcade with us!" He heard one of them say and another saying that they would never have to pay for anything ever again.

That was his cue, when he saw the EVO start to follow him he made himself known. "Those guys could care less about being friends you know." He said. The EVO stopped in his tracks and looked at him.

"What's wrong with that?" He asked and Noah couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the question. It didn't sound like someone who didn't care whether he was popular or not, but as someone who didn't seem to understand the difference between being a 'friend' and being 'used.'

"Hey EVO kid! Let's go! Cha-ching!" One of the kids said and Noah leaned against the machine shaking his head. The EVO looked at them, then him, then back to them.

"Let's just hang here…" He said, "And I'm tired of the whole 'machine' thing."

It had not been an answer they wanted and Noah knew it. "Oh, guess we're done then. Freak!" Noah watched the EVO's reaction and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He looked confused and hurt as the other teenagers laughed at him and took off. That's when Noah saw the monkey, noticed it could talk, and cringed at a comment that it said, and that the EVO approved.

"You have a talking monkey…" Noah said before he could stop himself. On one hand though it proved to be a decent ice breaker, the EVO kid looked back at him.

"Chimpanzee technically." He said and held up his hand. Noah gave a dull nod drawing a blank. He wished he thought this through more. His eyes fell on the soda machine. "You want a soda?"

The question brought his attention back to the EVO kid who was holding out his hand the blue electrified streaks crawling up it. He sounded uneasy and Noah had a feeling that just saying yes would probably not help his job. He needed to befriend this EVO and he would have better luck doing that if he made the first move.

"It's on me." Noah said taking out some money. "I'm Noah."

The EVO stared at him before grinning dropping his hand, "I'm Rex…and thanks." The uneasiness disappeared and once the two got there drinks Noah led Rex down the walkway engaging the EVO in conversation. Rex responded, speaking little at first, and then breaking into full conversation, leaving Noah as the one to sit back and listen.

And as Rex continued to talk Noah found himself realizing that the EVO was almost exactly like any other teenager.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

So I got bored and decide to look up meanings behind names and stuff like that… apparently Noah can also be a girl's name, not just a guys. Yeah. When I was coming up with this story a friend of mine and I were discussing how on some level we're sure Noah has a self-confidence problem, like maybe some kind of inferiority complex. We were also wondering why he was with Rex in the episode Badlands when he should have been somewhere like, I don't know, school. Eh maybe that episode was on a Saturday.

I can honestly say I don't care much how this chapter came out, but I needed to get Noah and Rex met up as there interaction is pretty important.


	3. Chapter 3: I'm Lying to Him

**Chapter Three: I'm Lying to Him**

White Knight had given him several instructions when dealing with Rex; keep him in line, do not let him wonder too far away from the city (if he does leave make sure he comes back), if he's called for work and he's with you, encourage him to go.

And last, the one thing that White Knight put a heavy emphasis on when he gave Noah his instructions: do not get attached to him.

"Yeah, easier said than done." Noah muttered to himself as he lay on his bed, curled up, trying to take an afternoon nap. He had finished his homework early, something unusual for him, as he preferred doing it later at night. However he was meeting up with Rex at the courtyard after dark to teach him how to play basketball. He still remembered the flurry of questions Rex had threw him when he casually mentioned he played basketball at his school.

"What's Basketball? How do you play? Can you teach me how to play? What about school, what's that? Can I go there? Are there any girls in school? Do girls like basketball?"

The sudden questions had caught Noah off guard at first, until he remembered that Rex had told him he only remembered his life at Providence. Not school, not basketball, and the only girl he had interacted with was someone named Holiday. When he thought about that, it made a lot of sense. "Well I don't know about you going to school, but I can teach you how to play basketball." He had suggested and the teenage EVO sounded very happy thanking him and everything.

Noah was starting to think that maybe it was a bad idea. He had only known Rex for four days and already he had to constantly remind himself that the teenager was an EVO. A potentially dangerous EVO. He could not get too attached, he could not. Rex was a pretty nice guy – obnoxious, but nice and fun to hang around – but EVOs were dangerous, which in turn meant Rex was dangerous. He had seen firsthand what Rex could do, when they were forced to Abysus by Van Kleiss' minions, and once the shock had worn off, he honestly felt sick to his stomach. Rex could just as easily rip a person apart with that giant blade. He could easily rip him a part, kill him in a heartbeat.

Noah shuddered and sat up starting to feel nauseas from the thoughts. He shook his head trying to get that thought out of his mind. That wasn't going to happen to him. White Knight assured him that he would be safe while he was working for Providence. He would be safe so long as he was Rex' friend and he would be paid for his services. Nothing bad would happen to him.

Noah took a deep breath to try and calm down, only to jump when he heard his cell phone ring. There was no number just that it was a hidden caller; either spam or Rex. He picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Hey Noah!" _It was Rex and he sounded very happy, _"Guess who just found out Providence forgot to put security cameras in there air vents?"_

"Where are you?" Noah asked, but already having a pretty good idea of what Rex was going to say.

"_Just outside the base, heading over to you now. We still meeting at that court place you showed me?"_

"Y-yeah." Noah said.

"_Good, cause…"_ Rex trailed off seeming uneasy, something that caught Noah's attention. _"Look I need to talk to you about something. Meet you there in an hour?"_

It was much earlier than they had originally planned, but Noah agreed to it. If Rex needed to talk that badly, something must have been up. "Yeah, I'll see you in an hour." He said and after hearing Rex say 'thank you', he hung up.

* * *

Rex wouldn't say what was on his mind once they met up and Noah decided quickly that pushing would probably be a bad idea. He decided to teach Rex how to shoot the ball into the basket thinking after a bit, the teenager – no EVO – would tell him what was on his mind. Eventually the practice turned into a game of horse and after his fourth loss, Rex started talking.

"And the EVO turned out to be this kid's priest." He said, "I mean yeah, we're Providence so we're the good guys, but to him _I _was the bad guy. I wasn't fighting a monster I was hurting someone he cared about! What am I supposed to do with that?"

Noah shrugged, having no idea how to answer that. "You try talking to Six?" He asked. The idea was shot down almost immediately, but from what little Noah had seen of Six, Rex was probably right about the agent not being one to talk. He tossed the ball over his head and it went right through the hoop. He hid his surprise; he had never actually been able to pull that off before.

"What do you think?" Rex asked as Noah picked up the ball.

"You cured the guy didn't you?" He asked tossing it to him.

"Of course." Rex said, "And the kid was happy, but that doesn't change the fact I had to hurt someone he cared about. And Six was ready to kill the guy. What if I hadn't been able to cure him in time? What if Six killed him?"

"Rex!" Noah cut him off. "Calm down. That didn't happen."

"I know, I know." Rex said and he dropped the ball, it bouncing in front of him each bounce being shorter than the other. "It's just, I don't know anything about what happened to my folks or how I felt, but – I mean – can you imagine what it must be like to lose someone close to you?"

The question felt like a punch in the gut. "Yeah… yeah I can." He said; he could do more than just imagine, imagining was one thing, but experiencing it was another. He noticed Rex take a step back, and gave him a confused look before realizing that the look on his face was probably anything but pleasant.

"Oh sorry," He said, "I didn't mean… did I say something bad?"

"No." Noah told him, but the look on Rex's face didn't leave. In face he seemed to be just as worried he said something wrong if not more so. Noah tried his best to steer the topic in another direction, putting up a strong front. "I'm just saying I feel for you. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it."

"Well sometimes I wish that someone wasn't always me." Rex said still sounding uneasy as he picked the basketball.

"I dunno. Personally, I'm glad you're helping with this war." Noah said giving him a more natural grin. "Because when it comes to basketball skills man, you're hopeless."

Next thing Noah knew, he found himself thinking that they would need to find a new basketball court to hang out at.

* * *

"Nice!" Rex said as he looked around Noah's house. He still wasn't quite sure why he invited Rex to his place. Admittedly part of it was because he was getting bored of just shooting hoops and he wanted to do something else with the teenager. EVO. Both? The other part was wondering why he didn't just suggest they go see a movie, his mom would be home in two hours and she did not like the idea of Noah working for Providence, specifically working as 'babysitter' as she liked to put it.

He still remembered the conversation they had after Noah came home late after being dragged to Abysus and coming back with bruises covering his arms and chest. That had been a very long night filled with Noah trying as hard as he could to assure his mother that all of bruises were from his unexpected trip and not his own doing. She only relaxed a little when he pointed out that half of them were in places he couldn't even reach.

"Hey Noah, who's this?" Rex asked picking up a picture off one of the tables. It was a picture of a woman with bright blonde hair.

"Oh, that's my mom."

"She looks nice." Rex said a large grin on his face, "Do I get to meet her?"

"Might be a bad idea." Noah told him rubbing the back of his neck. "Mom…" He stopped realizing he was almost gave his job away. He was not supposed to do that; Knight would fire him, but that was not the least of worries. "Mom works late." He said, "You need to be out of here by five."

Hearing this Rex pouted and let out some kind of whine that reminded Noah of a small child. "But that only gives us two hours to hang out. Can't we just, I dunno, leave and still hang out when she gets back?"

"Rex tonight's a school night." Noah said and again Rex let out a groan.

"You keep saying that, but what is a school night? Do you go to school at night or something?" He asked and Noah sighed explaining that it meant roughly that he had school the next day and that he had to spend most of his night doing homework. Rex raised an eyebrow at the mention of homework.

"What's that?" He asked and Noah didn't answer right away simply because he needed to think of something to compare it to that Rex would get.

"Think of it as a type of training." Noah said. Probably not the best comparison but the answer brought a look of disbelief to Rex's face, his body hunching over so he actually looked like he was shorter than Noah.

"You know what, never mind." The EVO said, "I don't care if school has cute girls, I don't wanna go anymore."

Noah could not help but grin at the comment. "Come on, I'll show you around." He said. Of course there was not really much to show, just after the living room was the kitchen and table, and upstairs were the bed rooms. He watched as Rex looked at the photographs scattered across the house, pictures of him and his team when they won the junior high basketball game, pictures of him and his mother at the docks, ones his dad took. He wished they could some pictures of his dad up around the house, but they couldn't. So they stayed in a box in his bed room closet.

"You and your mom are pretty close." Rex said and Noah nodded keeping quiet as the teenager continued to look over the pictures. "I wonder if I was close to my mom." He said, "Or my dad."

"I don't see why not." Noah said and Rex shrugged staring at the photo of him and his mom at the docks and empty look in his eyes. He put a hand on Rex's shoulder getting the EVOs attention. "I'm sure you were, and someday you'll see them again."

"Yeah, but what if I still don't remember them?" The question had caught Noah off guard and for a second he didn't know how to answer that. The first thing he wanted to say was 'I don't know' and be done with it, but he stopped himself. He had a feeling if he said that it would bring Rex down and he did not want to do that.

"Well maybe when you meet them again you'll remember something." Noah told him smiling. "It only takes one thing for everything to come back." In truth Noah did not know whether that would really happen, but he kept that thought to himself as Rex stared at him as though wondering if that was true.

The EVO grinned, "Yeah probably." He said taking lead up the stairs from Noah, "Maybe when I get everything back it will explain why I'm so awesome."

Noah rolled his eyes as he followed Rex to the top of the stairs. The blonde lead him to his room and let Rex in first. He watched as the EVO looked around the room, at everything. The posters on the walls, the guitar in the corner Noah hadn't picked up since the eighth grade, the books on his shelf. "This is so cool."

"It's not that big a deal Rex."

"Dude, you're allowed to paint your wall a color that is not white." Rex said staring at the light blue color. "Six won't let me do that." Noah stayed silent as Rex continued looking over his things, grabbing the second place medal off his wall. "You get medals for playing basketball?"

"You get them for any sport." He told him, "You just need to make a certain place." Rex's reaction was to hold up the silver medal and stare at it. It reminded Noah of a small boy who had never seen something like it before. If anything it reminded Noah exactly how bad Rex's memory loss was. No idea of home, where his family was, what his life was like before hand, the achievements he made. "You can keep that if you want." Noah said, the question coming out of nowhere with Noah himself wondering for a second why he even said that, especially since it was the best he had ever played.

"Nah." Rex said tossing it to him. "I'd rather get my own. Bet I'd get something in volleyball."

"Volleyball?" Noah asked.

"Yeah, no idea why, but I rule of volleyball." He said looking down at the floor. "Hey what's that?" He asked pointing out on old game system.

"Oh that, just a game system." Noah told him, "Haven't had much time to play anything so I brought it up here."

He saw the grin on Rex's face and Noah had an idea of what he was thinking. He grabbed the old system and told him to come downstairs.

* * *

He won again. Noah stared at Rex as the teenager let out another howl in victory. How he won considering he had never played before, Noah had no idea. "Dude, you sure you've never played this before?" He asked as he put the controller down.

"Yeah, don't have anything like this in Providence." He said leaning back against the couch. "Man you're lucky, you get to do all these things that I can't."

"Aren't you the one that can turn his hands into giant fists? And form a jetpack out of his body?" Noah asked and Rex gave a smirk.

"Well yeah." He said confidence in his voice as he was reminded of his powers. "But I really don't have anything like this. No home or anything like that."

"Isn't Providence you're home?" Noah asked and Rex rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, a home where I'm a lab rat." Rex told him, "You know the only reason that I got a bigger room was because I kept complaining and begging for it so much the higher ups finally gave it to me."

"Sounds like when I begged my mom to let me learn how to play guitar." Noah said giving a weak laugh. Rex stared at him, frowning, and he stopped. "Sorry…" He mumbled and Rex shrugged.

"I just wish I had a bit of normalcy in my life." He said, "Guess that's why I like hanging out with you."

"Huh?" Noah stared at Rex a bit apprehensive of where this was going.

"If I hadn't met you, I'd probably be back at Providence hanging around with Bobo and don't get me wrong Bobo's awesome, but I can't just hang around with a monkey all day." He said and gave Noah a grin. "Without you around I think I'd probably go crazy, so thanks."

The comment sounded so awkward but at the same time so sincere that it felt like a steak had been driven through Noah's chest. He felt guilt wash over him. Rex considered him a friend, and here he was lying to him. "Noah you alright?" He heard Rex say and Noah blinked before giving a weak smile.

"Yeah. I'm just glad we're friends." He said and Rex grinned.

"Same here man." The teenager said and he gave Noah a light jab in the arm. The blonde winced rubbing his shoulder. He tried to keep the smile on his face, but at the same time he wished that he could turn into a small bug and hide under the carpet.

* * *

Noah stared at his math homework, the numbers blurring and none of it making any sense in his head. This was probably why he was never going to go into anything that involved programming, none of it made sense to him. A part of him wanted to blame Rex for this; the teenager did drag him out of school for a premature spring break leaving his real week off to not be one of relaxation, but one that involved him trying to catch up on all the homework he had missed beforehand.

He knew better, Rex just wanted to have fun, to have some normalcy before having to do more work for Providence. It was actually quite amusing really, to see his friend meet and develop an interest in a girl, to tease him about going on a date with her. It was only a shame that everything went downhill so fast.

His friend… Noah dropped his pencil and buried his face in his hands. He was not Rex's friend, he wanted to be Rex's friend but you're not a person's friend if you're hired to keep an eye out for them. He was just pretending. He didn't want to pretend anymore but there was nothing he could do about it.

He head the door open and jumped turning around to see it was just his mom coming in. He relaxed and checked the time; it was only 4PM. "You're home early." He told her.

"What you don't want me here?" His mom asked, her tone joking and Noah gave her a small smile.

"I didn't say that." He said.

"Got off early so I could get some stuff for dinner." She told him, "But then I decided, 'you know I don't feel like cooking tonight, why don't we just order a pizza.' Sound good to you?"

"Yeah sure." Noah said before turning back to his homework. The math problems were just as blurry as before and he closed the book. Maybe working on something else would help him concentrate. He took out his history book as he heard his mother come into the kitchen.

"So how's the work going?" She asked.

"Could be better." He muttered before sighing and saying, "I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing."

"Well if you and you're little 'friend' didn't take off for that island you wouldn't be behind. I swear EVO or normal, that kid's a bad influence." She said and Noah grumbled. He did not need to be constantly reminded that incident. Or to be constantly reminded that he was supposed to be Rex's friend.

"Please, just stop mom." He said. "It's bad enough that I feel guilty spying on him, but do you have to keep reminding me too?"

His mother gave him a confused look. "I never said anything like that." She said and Noah stayed quiet staring at his book. He looked up from the corner of his eye to see her take a seat next to him. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

He wanted to say no. He opened his mouth to say no, but clamped it shut when he saw the look his mom was giving him. His mom had a horrible habit of knowing when something was wrong with him, sometimes even before he knew anything was wrong. He sighed. "I can't do this anymore." He told her. "I can't pretend to be Rex's friend. He's fun to hang around with and yeah the money White's giving me has been helping, but I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

When he was finished he found his mother still looking at him raising an eyebrow, "You don't want to be Rex's friend anymore?"

"No!" Noah almost yelling at her. Realizing it, he lowered his voice. "I mean… I want to be Rex's friend, but half the time I'm hanging out with him and he mentions how much he enjoys hanging out with me I feel like I'm lying to the guy." He paused and sighed. "Well I guess I kinda am."

He buried his head in his hands taking in a deep breath. "What am I supposed to do?" He asked as he felt his mom put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I mean you said it was my choice whether I worked for White or not, but I didn't think this would happen."

"You were hired to keep an eye on an EVO still capable of rational thought and you're telling me you didn't expect to get attached to him?" She asked, "Noah, he might be an EVO but he's your age, a teenager that just wants to have the time of his life with someone that he can see as a friend. And you don't really hang out with anyone, so it's only natural that after spending so much time with him you'd become attached."

Noah stayed quiet. His mom had a point, which did not surprise him at all. After all it was his mom. "What should I do?" He asked again this time actually looking at her for some kind of answer, for her to tell him what to do like she did when he was much younger. She seemed to know this as the expression on her face was the most serious he had seen in quite awhile.

"I think you need to tell him the truth." She said and Noah's eyes widened, getting up from his seat.

"I can't do that, the guy is strong enough to take on EVOs, he could kill me if I tell him!"

"The chances of him wanting to kill you are going to be higher if someone else tells him then if you tell him yourself." Noah's face turned as white as a sheet.

"Mom!"

"Noah." She cut in, her voice completely serious, "If you truly care about this kid, and really want to be his friend, you'll tell him the truth." She said and Noah knew the conversation would end there. Noah looked down at the table in front of him. There was no other option, he could either tell Rex everything, and hope that something could be worked out, and if not that they could walk away from it without anyone getting killed. Or he could keep lying and let the guilt build up until he cracked.

Telling Rex would be best. He would contact Six and request that he take him to Providence when the weekend came. All he needed to do now was try and come up with some way to tell Rex that would not get himself killed.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I would have had this up earlier but I started doing some last minute editing to fix a few things here and there. I dunno something's not right with this chapter; I think there are more than a few grammar errors that I was too tired to clean up. I knew I should have stayed away from those Slenderman blogs…

I can't help but feel these chapters are to long -_-.


End file.
